Michael Cimino. This controversial director would go on to partly cause the end of the "New Hollywood" era with his over-budgeted financial bomb "Heaven's Gate," which led to the crash of United Artists.

Cimino, born in New York City, attended Michigan State then Yale, graduating with a BFA and MFA in painting. From there Cimino would on to become an acclaimed commercial director, and eventually make his way to screenwriting, co-writing the script for "Magnum Force", the sequel to "Dirty Harry." Eastwood favored Cimino's writing so much that he bought his spec script for what would go on to be Cimino's directing debut, "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot." The success of that film would give Cimino the chance to direct a new film. A war film.

The script was originally about Russian roulette players in Las Vegas, but that idea was transplanted into a story about mill workers from Pennsylvania who go to fight in the Vietnam War. Much like "Dr. Strangelove" being made into a comedy or "Apocalypse Now" being Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" set in Vietnam, it would be an idea that would pay off for everyone involved. The film went on to win five Oscars, including Best Picture. That film: "The Deer Hunter", the first true American epic about the Vietnam War.

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"The Deer Hunter" follows a group of friends, Mike, Steve and Nick as they leave their unassuming lives as mill workers in Pittsburgh to fight in the Vietnam War. Steve (played by John Savage) has just been married and Nick (Christopher Walken's greatest performance ever in my opinion) has just gotten engaged to Angela (a superb, early performance from Meryl Streep). Before they leave to war, they go on a hunting trip with a few other friends and try and to enjoy their time together. Mike (the incredible as always Robert De Niro) is the brooding leader of the group -- a loner with hard-edged attitude. As he stalks the forest for his kill, he becomes obsessed with the idea of only having "one shot" at taking down his prey. We hard cut to Vietnam, where we find the three have been captured and become POW's. The war changes the three significantly, all in different ways, and they struggle to remember and retain who they were before the war.

"The Deer Hunter" is a truly sprawling epic with moments of intense brilliance that makes one think of "The Godfather." Cimino's maniacal and meticulous sense of direction gives the film and its performances a raw sincerity that allows it to stand on its own in comparison to the other American films about Vietnam ("Full Metal Jacket", "Platoon"). "The Deer Hunter" is also unique for placing more emphasis and what happens to a soldier after he returns from war, rather than the experience of being in it; in that way it's more "Taxi Driver" than "Apocalypse Now." But like "Apocalypse Now," the film feels unhinged to a certain degree, placing more emphasis on emotional resonance than historical accuracy or attention to structure and form.

"The Deer Hunter" would go on to be a huge box office success, simultaneously cementing and damning Cimino's career as a film director. The acclaim he received for "The Deer Hunter" would allow him free reign, budget-wise and otherwise on his new film, another epic, this time about the Civil War. That film would go on to be called "Heaven's Gate." Although Cimino's career has been mixed since "Heaven's Gate," "The Deer Hunter" is still widely considered by many to be one of the greatest films ever made. See it.

Sheridan O'Donnell reviews movies not in theaters anymore. Send your suggestions (and comments) to odsher@gmail.com and your film might just be in next week's Pulse.

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